


The World

by EmperorSeramir



Category: Original Work
Genre: Depressed Seramir, Existential Dread, Fantasy, Isekai, Magic, Monsters, Protective Rose, Scary Seramir, Seramir Needs a Hug, Suicidal Seramir, Suicide Attempt, Undead, medieval style
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:02:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24647647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmperorSeramir/pseuds/EmperorSeramir
Summary: A young man arrives in a fantasy world shortly after his death, the world seems to have a medieval aesthetic, but also seems to have some modern appliances due to the magic that is used in this world. Of course our protagonist doesn't believe that he's in another world and simply believes that he's hallucinating, in a coma, or dreaming. How will he react to this new world when he finds out the truth? What challenges await him?
Relationships: Rose & Rose's Grandpa, Seramir & Rose, Seramir & Rose's Grandpa
Kudos: 3





	The World

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, so I've had this idea ever since my freshman year of high school, but I've every time I tried to write it it didn't seem to flow right. So what I'm going to do is post the first chapter here, get some feedback, see what people think and then post more chapters as I go along. I'll take ideas when I can and I thank everyone who supports me in writing this. Also, trigger warning for the beginning of the story, the main character; Seramir, does commit suicide, reader beware.

**Trigger Warning!!!**

A man in his early twenties with short brown hair parted to the right sits in his car after work, thoughts of hopelessness fills his mind. He’s twenty-four years old, has never had a girlfriend in his life, not for the lack of trying. He’s been told that he’s nice, smart, funny, and handsome, but no matter what girls don’t seem to be interested in him.

However, it’s not just his love life or lack thereof that’s affecting him, he has a job that he is relatively easy for him, but his boss is a major bitch. Just before getting off work she had snapped at him for not putting the sign up. He had put the stand out front of the place he worked and placed the sign to the side so that he could put it up when they left, but his boss threatened to write him up or even terminate him over it saying “I’m not your mama!” Needless to say, he doesn’t really enjoy the place he’s working at currently, but even that isn’t the only thing that has gotten to him.

He thinks of how much better high school was, it wasn’t great by any means in fact he hated high school, but at least he had friends, but now they all have their own lives. One of his friends has already graduated from college, two of his friends have already managed to move out of their parents’ houses, and another one is already married. Plus, his step sister who is three years younger than him is already married too. His cousin who is also three years younger than him has already gotten his associates degree.

The young man has lost touch with his friends, but he doesn’t want to bother them since it’s not their job to hang out with him when he’s feeling hopeless. They’ve got their own lives to live and should be spending their time doing what they want, not deal with him. The young man is so alone and has no way of making a meaningful connection.

The worst thought to cross his mind is about his mom and grandparents, those three are the ones he’s closest to, but he knows the inevitability. His grandma, grandpa, and mom will all die long before he does, then he’ll truly be alone with no one to turn to no one to rely on. These thoughts circulate through his head as he looks down at the two pill bottles and bottle of water in the passenger seat. He knows how upset his mom and grandparents would be, but he knows that they’re stronger than him, they’d still have his step sister and cousin who are already far more successful than he is. It would hurt for a while for them, but people die everyday and the world keeps turning, so they’ll be fine even though he won’t be there anymore.

The young man swallows every pill in both bottles taking gulps of water in between to force them down. Once he’s downed both pill bottles he sits back in his seat as the pills slowly take effect “The pain will all be over now, I’m sorry I couldn’t be stronger for you mom. I’m sorry I had to die before you mamaw, papaw, but…I can’t do it anymore.” The young man closes his eyes and loses consciousness.

**End of Trigger Warning**

Not too long afterwards it seems like something is shining behind his closed eyes and it feels as though he’s lying on a patch of grass and he can swear that he feels wind blowing. The young man opens his eyes to see a bright blue sky with white clouds floating overhead. He sits up and looks around in confusion “Where am I? This is a bit too peaceful to be considered Hell, unless this is some weird form of psychological torture. Maybe Purgatory, I mean it’s possible and Purgatory isn’t really something religion talks much about.”

The young man stands up as he takes note of his surroundings, he sees a nearby forest to his left and to his right he sees “Is that a town?” The town he’s looking at seems archaic, like something you’d see in a fantasy novel with wooden buildings and foundations made out of stone. There also seems to be people and wagons going up and down the streets. The young man says to himself “Okay, clearly this is some sort of weird dream or hallucination from the pills I took.” He then sighs before he starts walking towards the town “Might as well check it out since I’ve got nothing better to do.”

As the young man walks through the town, he can’t help but feel as though he’s in some sort of medieval world, but clearly this is all just his imagination since there’s no way he could’ve been sent to another world upon his death. The people he passes by sometimes give him weird looks from how he’s dressed, he’s wearing blue jeans with a belt, a white polo shirt, a grey jacket, and black dress shoes along with black socks. He comments to himself as he looks around “This place actually looks pretty cool now that I get a closer look, it’s much livelier than where I live…or lived.”

He then hears “Come on Rose, how long are you going to play hard to get before you finally accept my offer.” The young man notices a group of guys surrounding a girl with shoulder length pink hair and red eyes who he assumes is Rose. Rose replies indignantly “As many times as it takes to get you to understand that I’m not interested in marrying you.” The one who was talking earlier says “Come on, you know my family is the richest one in the capital, I’d make sure to take good care of you.” The guy reaches out to Rose, but she steps away while holding her groceries in a brown bag “I can take care of myself just fine, I don’t need you.” The guy then says “Come on Rose, don’t be like that.”

When he tries to grab her again the young man calls out “Hey, can’t you see she’s not interested!” The guy and his goons look at the young man in confusion along with Rose, the guy asks “And who do you think you are?” The young man answers as he walks towards them “I’m nobody important, but even I know when to back off when a girl isn’t interested in me. What you’re doing right now just makes you look pathetic and disgusting.” The guy grits his teeth in anger “How dare you talk to me like that! Do you know who I am?!”

The young man answers with a glare “I don’t know and I don’t care, but I’m not about to back down from some worthless piece of trash like you.” The guy looks at his goons as he says “Boys, I want you to teach this punk a lesson he won’t forget.” The two goons crack their knuckles as the young man says “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, if you attack me then I can’t tell you what I might do.” One of the goons rears his fist back and socks the young man in the jaw sprawling him out on the ground. The goons chuckle as they crack their knuckles getting ready to beat him down, but the young man feels the pain in his cheek and blood spill from his mouth.

His cheek hurts, but unfortunately for them pain pisses him off. The young man slowly stands back up as the same goon tries to sock him in the jaw again, but as the goon swings the young man swiftly dodges to the left before delivering his own punch straight to the goon’s throat. The goon falls to the ground grabbing his throat in pain as he can’t breathe, the second goon yells as he gets ready to attack the young man himself “You bastard!” When the goon throws his punch the young man dodges to the right as he delivers another quick throat punch. The guy looks at both of his goons who are on the ground gasping for air in shock.

The young man lets out a chilling sigh before he looks at the guy with a crazed look in his eyes as he grins maniacally with blood staining his teeth “So, who’s next?” The guy stumbles back in fear “Y-you cheated!” The young man stalks towards the guy like a predator “There’s no such thing as cheating when it comes to a fight for one’s life. They made it clear when they attacked me that they had no right to complain when they were the ones to end up on the ground begging for mercy.” The guy continues backing away before falling on his rear as the young man says “But you’re the one who ordered them to attack me, so you have no right to complain…” the young man glares down at the guy still with a crazed smile “ **when I teach you a lesson**.”

The guy scrambles to his feet in fear before quickly running away, the young man’s face returns to normal as he wipes the blood from his mouth “Arrogant bastard should have the balls to fight his own battles.” He then hears Rose ask “Are you alright?” The young man looks at Rose surprised that she didn’t seem scared of him after what he had done “Yeah, I’m fine.” Rose counters “Your mouth was bleeding.” The young man says “I’ll live.”

The young man can’t help but chuckle at his dark joke much to Rose’s confusion before she says “Still, the least I should do is make sure you’re alright after you went through the trouble to help me and all.” The goons slink away while the young man and Rose talk “It’s fine, I just did what any decent human being would’ve done.” Rose replies “I don’t think many people would beat up the mayor’s son’s friends then threaten him.” The young man comments with a wave of his hand “People who use their titles to take advantage of others have no right to call themselves human.” Rose looks at the young man in surprise before she starts giggling to the young man’s confusion.

Rose comments with a smile “I don’t think I’ve ever met someone like you before, do you mind if I ask your name?” The young man goes to answer before thinking “Wait a minute, since this is all in my head then I should at least think of a cool name instead of just using my old one.” Rose looks at the young man expectantly before he answers “My name’s Seramir.” Rose comments “Seramir huh? I’ve never heard of that name before.”

Rose does a curtsy as she introduces herself “My name is Rose, it’s nice to meet you.” Seramir replies “Nice to meet you too.” Rose then says “Since I haven’t seen you around here before I’m guessing your new around here.” Seramir answers with a nod “Yeah, can’t say I’ve ever been here before.” Rose then asks “So you don’t have a place to stay?” Seramir answers “Not at the moment, no.”

Rose then says with a bright smile “Very well then, you can stay with me and my grandpa!” Seramir asks with a blank look “Do you always take in strangers who have no place to stay?” Rose answers “No, but you did help get Loxus to back off and you did get hurt so this is the least I can do for you.” Seramir comments “I think you’re too trusting.” Rose giggles as she begins walking away “Follow me, I’ll take you to my house.”

Seramir shrugs as he thinks to himself “Might as well, not like I have anything better to do.” Seramir walks beside Rose as she asks “So where are you from if you don’t mind me asking?” Seramir answers “I’m from a small town called Columbia.” Rose replies curiously “Columbia huh? I’ve never heard of a place by that name before.” Seramir adds “It’s far away from here so it’s no surprise you wouldn’t know about it.”

Rose comments as she takes in Seramir’s attire “For someone who has travelled far from home you don’t really look like a traveler.” Seramir looks down at his clothes which are the same as the ones he had before “Yeah well, I’m not exactly sure how I got here.” He then thinks to himself “Well, I do, but it’d be kind of weird telling someone that I killed myself then wound up here even if this is some weird hallucination.” Rose asks in confusion “What do you mean you don’t know how you got here?” Seramir answers “Honestly, I just kind of woke up just outside of town, I don’t really know where I’m at.”

Rose comments to herself “That’s odd, I’ve never heard of that happening even in my fantasy novels.” Seramir asks “You read fantasy novels?” Rose smiles excitedly as she answers “Oh yes, I read lots of different fantasy books, I love stories about adventure and danger! I like the idea of some great adventurer overcoming all odds in order to save a village or a princess or even the entire world! I just get so caught up in those books that it almost feels as though I’m actually there or that I’m one of the characters, you know!”

Rose realizes that Seramir’s smirking at her before she starts blushing “S-sorry about that, I just really like books.” Seramir replies “It’s alright, I’ll admit I’m a fan of fantasy novels myself, I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve read.” Rose looks at Seramir and he can swear her eyes are sparkling “Really?! You read fantasy novels too?!” Seramir replies as he holds his hands up with a nervous smile “Y-yeah, but I mean it’s not like you or I are the only ones who read books like that. I’m sure there are plenty of people who read fantasy novels.”

Rose looks away with a lonesome expression “Not really, most people around here are usually so focused on their jobs and providing for their families to even think about reading or writing. Which, I’ve always been considered weird growing up since I’ve always liked to read, most of the kids would make fun of me and say that stories like that is for kids. Not that I blame them, but it’s just…” Seramir finishes “it’s just who you are.” Rose looks at Seramir in surprise as he looks forward “I had to deal with the same thing growing up, kids would always tell me that what I liked was always for kids and that I should grow up and act more like my age, but if I did that then I’d be denying who I am. I’ll admit that I’ve lost interest in a lot of things that I used to enjoy, but reading has always managed to take my mind off of things.”

Rose looks at Seramir as though he had said something profound “That’s so cool.” Seramir looks at Rose in confusion as she comments “I mean, even though I like reading and still read from time to time I’ve never really thought too much about what that means for me or what it would mean if I stopped like everyone used to tell me. I’ve never thought of anything like you had just said, I just…stubbornly held onto what made me happy.” Seramir gains a look of understanding before he says “Then don’t ever let it go.” Rose looks at Seramir in surprise as he continues “Finding what makes you happy is one of the most difficult things you’ll ever do in life which is why you must cherish each moment of happiness you can find, because if you don’t then it’ll slip right passed you.”

Rose smiles as she comments “You’re really smart, aren’t you Seramir.” Seramir replies looking down “No not really, I just…I just have some moments of inspiration. There are plenty of people who are much smarter than me who have gotten farther in life than me, I’m just tripping over my own feet trying to make it through the day.” Rose looks a Seramir with a sad expression before she places a hand on his shoulder “Hey,” Seramir looks at Rose “just because other people may be smarter than you or have gotten farther than you doesn’t mean that you aren’t smart or that they haven’t had their own fair share of troubles. Trying your best to make it through the day is all we really can do, so…” Rose thinks for a moment trying to find the right words “don’t judge yourself off of other people’s success. It doesn’t help anyone if you get caught up in your own head.”

Seramir looks at Rose in surprise as this stranger he has just met has done more for him in the short amount of time that they’ve been together than most people he has met in his entire life. Tears start to form in Seramir’s eyes before Rose says worriedly “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry I was just trying to-” Seramir cuts her off “It’s fine Rose, it’s just…that’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long time.” Rose looks at Seramir in shock before she smiles with a hint of sadness “You’re welcome Seramir.”

Not too long after Rose knocks on the door of what looks like a cabin on the outskirts of town next to a cherry blossom tree, as she makes her way in, she calls out “Grandpa, I’m home.” An old man with white hair and a goatee looks up from the dining room table where he’s reading a book “Welcome back Rose.” Rose introduces as Seramir walks in behind her “Grandpa this is Seramir, Seramir this is my grandpa.” Seramir awkwardly waves his hand “Hello.” Rose’s grandpa smiles at him as he nods “Hello there young man, it’s nice to meet you.” Seramir replies with a nod “It’s nice to meet you too.”

Rose explains “Seramir here actually helped me out when Loxus tried to convince me to marry him again.” Rose’s grandpa sighs as he asks “Again? When is that boy going to take no for an answer?” Rose answers as she sets her groceries down while Seramir stands awkwardly to the side “Well hopefully today, Seramir had told him that I wasn’t interested in him before he set his goons on him.” Rose then spins around as she remembers “Oh, you should’ve seen him grandpa! Seramir took out both of Loxus’ goons like they were nothing! It was honestly kind of scary, but also really cool!”

Seramir blushes as Rose’s grandpa looks at him with a smirk “Really?” Rose’s grandpa looks Seramir up and down and takes note of how skinny he looks “I honestly wouldn’t have expected that, but they say you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover.” Seramir replies still blushing “Well to be fair I did punch them in the throat, so I’m pretty sure anyone could’ve beaten them if that went with that strategy.” Rose’s grandpa hums in acknowledgement “Not the most honorable way of fighting, but definitely an effective one when you’re outmatched.” Rose adds “Yeah, but what was really scary was after he took his goons down. He had this creepy smile with blood staining his teeth from when he was punched and started slowly walking towards Loxus, he looked like he was insane.”

Rose quickly looks at Seramir apologetically “No offense.” Seramir replies “None taken, that was actually what I was going for. I mean when someone takes a hit then smiles about it, it’s probably best at that point to run since you don’t know what they’re going to do.” Rose’s grandpa chuckles “A bit of a strategist aren’t we.” Seramir says as he rubs the back of his neck “I wouldn’t really say that, it’s just something that I’ve thought about doing before but never had the opportunity to use it.”

Rose’s grandpa says gratefully “Well in any case it worked and you have my thanks for helping my granddaughter.” Rose interjects “Speaking of which; Seramir doesn’t have a place to stay at the moment so do you mind if he stays here?” Seramir asks in shock “Wait, what?!” Rose’s grandpa answers “I don’t mind, it’s the least I can do after what he did for you.” Seramir says “Hold on!” Rose smiles ecstatically “Yes!”

Seramir yells out “Wait!” Rose and her grandpa both look at him as he says “Look, I know I helped out Rose a bit, but isn’t this a bit much. I mean you guys barely know me, hell Rose just told you how I beat up a couple of guys and how I looked like I was crazy. I mean how do you know I’m not crazy?” Rose’s grandpa sighs as he answers “I don’t know, I don’t know if you’re crazy and I don’t know if your dangerous, but the fact is you helped my granddaughter and she seems to trust you enough to let you stay here. Besides,” Rose’s grandpa looks Seramir in the eyes “you don’t seem like a bad person.”

Seramir’s eyes widen in surprise before he says reluctantly “Well, I mean if you guys are okay with it then I guess I have no reason to refuse.” Rose smiles happily as she says “Well you get comfortable while I get dinner ready.” Seramir takes a seat from across Rose’s grandpa as they talk.

Seramir had told Rose’s grandpa everything that he had told Rose as far as where he’s from “Columbia huh? Can’t say I’ve ever heard of a town by that name.” Seramir replies “Yeah, it’s really far away.” Seramir hears the sound of rushing water, like a sink, he looks over to where Rose is standing while washing some vegetables. Seramir thinks to himself in surprise “Wait, they have sinks here!?”

Seramir then thinks for a moment “Well, it would make sense since this is all in my head, but even so how would something like that work. I mean with this looking like medieval time periods you’d think that my hallucination would follow some sense of logic. I mean I seriously doubt that they had any form of plumbing during the medieval time period.” Seramir’s thoughts are cut off when he hears Rose’s grandpa call out “Seramir!” Seramir nearly jumps out of his skin “You seemed to be thinking really hard about something.”

Seramir blushes as he replies embarrassedly “Y-yeah, I was.” Rose’s grandpa asks as they have gotten Rose’s attention “Do you mind if I ask what it was about?” Seramir looks over at Rose then the sink then back to Rose’s grandpa before sighing in defeat “You’re going to think I’m stupid for asking this, but how do you have running water exactly?” Rose and her grandpa look at Seramir as though he’s grown a second head before she answers “Through Matera of course.” Seramir asks confusedly “Matera?”

Rose’s grandpa asks “Don’t they have Matera from where you’re from?” Seramir shakes his head “No, most of the stuff we have is more technologically advanced than this.” Rose asks “Techno-what-now?” Seramir answers “Technologically advanced, from where I’m from we’re a bit more advanced than this, our buildings are much taller and much more…sophisticated I guess and we have other ways of using the same appliances.” Rose’s grandpa seems to nod in understanding “You must’ve come from somewhere where they didn’t have Matera so they had to rely on their own skills in order to progress.”

Seramir answers with a nod “Yeah, something like that.” Rose asks “So they didn’t have ANY Matera in Columbia?” Seramir shakes his head before Rose comments “Wow, couldn’t imagine going through life without Matera.” Seramir smirks as he jokes “Rub it in why don’t you.” Rose giggles before she replies “Well, you’ll love Matera once you learn how to use it.”

Rose gestures for Seramir to come to the sink which he does, Seramir stands beside Rose as she explains “Now then, in order to turn on the sink you need to press the blue Matera here.” She points at a small blue orb from where the neck of the sink stretches from “Then you turn the knobs, the orange Matera for cold water or the red Matera for hot water.” Seramir looks at the knobs with the orange and red orbs in them in amazement “So it’s like magic?” Rose’s grandpa explains “Sort of, see the Matera are these minerals that we’ve mined for as long as our history began and each colored Matera possesses a different power. Can you guess what those ones are?”

Seramir looks down at the three Matera as he thinks about the information he currently has “The blue one is obviously water, red is fire, and orange is…air? I mean it doesn’t really make much sense for it to be ice since it doesn’t really look anything like ice.” Rose’s grandpa chuckles as he answers “Orange is wind, there are only six Matera that can be found. You already know three of them, the other three are yellow for earth, green for healing, and purple for monstrous.” Seramir asks as he looks at Rose’s grandpa “Monstrous?”

Rose’s grandpa nods as he explains “Monstrous is the rarest Matera to be found, it allows whoever uses it to turn into their own personal monster, which makes it the most dangerous of the six.” Seramir looks back down at the three Matera as he replies “I see, so I’m guessing that you all use Matera in your day to day lives then?” Rose answers “Sometimes, we don’t particularly rely on them, but they certainly make things easier for us.” Seramir nods as he thinks about the Matera and what they could be used for, but then Rose recalls “Oh right, I almost forgot!”

Rose steps away from the sink as Seramir watches her curiously, she opens up a wide box before pulling out a green Matera. Rose apologizes as she walks to Seramir “Sorry for not doing this earlier, I guess I just sort of forgot.” Rose raises her free hand up to Seramir’s jaw where he got punched as her hand emits a light green aura. Seramir replies “It’s alright, I could’ve just chewed on the other side.” Rose giggles then after she’s finished healing him, she says “Dinner will be ready in a moment.”

Seramir replies with a light blush “O-oh, right.” Seramir goes back to his seat as Rose giggles as she goes back to preparing dinner. During that time Rose’s grandpa goes back to reading his book while Seramir continues thinking about all the different applications for Matera. It seems that the applications he’s seen so far are for more practical uses rather than anything weaponized, but then again, he hasn’t been here very long.

Seramir asks as they eat dinner “So how do people use Matera around here?” Rose and her grandpa look at each other before she answers “They’re mostly used for practical uses, the only ones that are used for combat are the red, purple, and yellow Matera. Of course, the green Matera is used for healing, but most people only use the blue and orange Matera for appliances like sinks or showers.” Seramir asks curiously “Why aren’t those two used for combat?” Rose shrugs as she answers “They’re considered weaker than the other three.”

Seramir hums in thought before Rose’s grandpa asks “What’re you thinking about?” Seramir answers “Well it’s just, I think that the orange and blue Matera would be considered the more powerful ones aside from yellow of course.” Rose asks in confusion “What do you mean?”

Seramir explains “Well, living creatures’ bodies mostly consist of water so one could use the blue Matera in order to restrain whoever or whatever they were using it against. Of course, I don’t know how it would feel for the other person, but as far as combat goes the blue Matera would be very effective.” Rose and her grandpa’s eyes widen in sudden realization as Seramir continues “Plus, all living creatures need air in order to breathe, so someone could use the orange Matera in order to suck the air of someone or something’s lungs. Although, I doubt they’d last too long without air, since it’s kind of vital for survival.”

Rose comments in astonishment “Wow, I’ve never heard of using Matera like that before, it’s kind of creepy, but really effective.” Rose’s grandpa nods in agreement “I’m surprised you came up with something like that so quickly after just learning about Matera.” Seramir replies “Well it could be that you two are so used to thinking of the Matera in one way that you don’t imagine any other uses for them.” Rose nods in understanding “Yeah, that makes sense, but I doubt the orange Matera would work too well against undead.” Seramir does a doubletake at Rose “I’m sorry, what?”

Rose replies “You know, undead?” Seramir blinks in shock before Rose asks “You mean you don’t know about undead?!” Seramir answers defensively “Well I’ve read stories about them, but I didn’t think that they’d be real.” Seramir thinks to himself “Not that any of this is actually real to begin with.”

Rose asks “Are there any other monsters you don’t know exist?” Seramir then asks dumbfounded “Other monsters?” Rose looks at Seramir in shock “You mean you didn’t know monsters exist until just now?!” Rose’s grandpa comments “Columbia must be a very protected place if no monsters have managed to attack it.”

Seramir replies “Eh, not really. I mean Columbia has a bit of a drug problem and everyone there is just a bunch of selfish…jerks.” Rose asks “Are you alright?” Seramir answers as he looks at Rose “Yeah, just had to stop myself before I said something inappropriate.” Rose’s grandpa chuckles as he comments “I know what you mean.”

Rose then says “Well most of the people around here are nice, I mean we still have our occasional jerks, but they’re few and far between.” Seramir replies “That’s good.” Rose’s grandpa adds “Speaking of jerks, I doubt Loxus will let you get away with beating up his goons and making him look bad.” Seramir shrugs as he comments “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”

Rose asks curiously “What do you mean by that?” Seramir answers “If his ego was so fragile then he shouldn’t have tried to pick a fight with me in the first place.” Rose comments with a teasing smirk “Technically you picked a fight with him” Seramir waves his right hand dismissively “Semantics, doesn’t mean he didn’t deserve it.” Rose’s grandpa comments “His father might not be too happy about it.”

Seramir replies “If he’s as weak willed as his son then I doubt I’ll have any problem, that is if I’m still here by the time he shows up.” Rose asks “What do you mean?” Seramir thinks for a moment before he answers “Well, I did just sort of show up here not knowing how I got here, so who’s to say it won’t happen again?” Rose comments with a sad expression “Well I hope not, I mean I know we just met, but I’d like to get to know you a little before you disappear.” Seramir smiles depreciatively “I’m not that interesting.”

Rose’s grandpa counters “I beg to differ, you don’t seem to care about status, you do what you believe is right, and you don’t back down when you see someone doing something wrong. Plus, there’s the fact that you came from a place with no Matera or monsters and you seem to be quite smart for your age.” Seramir replies “Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll find a way to disappoint you.” Rose and her grandpa look at Seramir worriedly as she asks “Are you alright?” Seramir answers as he fakes a smile “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Rose counters “You don’t seem fine.” Seramir’s smile falters for a moment before he asks “What do you mean?” Rose answers “Well, I mean you did just talk badly about yourself and you seemed pretty confident in saying that you’d somehow disappoint us. Plus, there’s the fact that you took a punch to the face and didn’t really show any sign of pain even after the fight was already over.” Seramir replies as he lets his smile fall “It’s just…I’m just used to pretending that I’m fine, I’ve been doing it for so long it’s practically second nature to me.”

Rose’s grandpa asks with a sense of protectiveness “How long have you been doing this?” Seramir looks at Rose’s grandpa before he reluctantly answers “Over ten years.” Rose cries out in shock “Ten years!?” Seramir lightly nods in shame, Rose’s grandpa puts down his utensils as he sighs before he asks “Have you told anyone about it?” Seramir shakes his head as he answers “No, it just…it just never really seemed important, besides no one ever bothered to try to get to know me.”

Rose looks at Seramir with a sad expression as she thinks about how few positive influences he must have had in his life. Seramir chuckles mirthlessly as he says to himself “It’s funny how easy it is for people to believe a fake smile over the real pain.” Rose’s grandpa looks at Seramir with a sad expression as he thinks what he could possibly do to help him, but then Rose puts down her utensils as she stands up. Seramir looks down in shame before he feels Rose wrap her arms around his neck catching him by surprise. Rose says as tears slip out of her eyes “I’m so sorry you had to go through that, I’m sorry that you felt that you had to lie to keep people from finding out.”

Seramir hesitantly raises his right hand as he gently pats Rose’s arm “It’s alright, it’s just something I’ve gotten used to.” Rose pulls back as she counters “But you shouldn’t have had to have gotten used to it.” Seramir opens and closes his mouth unable to find anything to say before Rose continues “Someone should’ve tried to get to know you, to find out how much pain you were in, to see passed your lies so that you could really get the help that you needed.” Seramir closes his mouth before he smiles sadly “It’s not their fault, it’s not their job to look after me, it’s not their job to know everything about me.” Rose counters again “But the ones who cared about you should’ve looked out for you, they should’ve known when you were lying, and they should’ve been there when you needed them most.”

Seramir replies resolutely as he looks Rose in the eyes “Life isn’t that simple; people have their own lives to live. Expecting them to go out of their way just for me is naïve if not arrogant.” Rose’s expression turns frustrated as tears continue coming from her eyes which only make Seramir feel guilty as he looks away.

Rose’s grandpa interjects “I think that’s enough for now.” Rose looks at her grandpa as she gets ready to say something, but the look he gives her stops her before she can. Rose’s grandpa stands up as he says “Come on, I’ll show you to the room you’ll be staying in.” Seramir quietly stands up from his seat as he follows Rose’s grandpa down the hall “This used to be my daughter and her husband’s bedroom, but I’m sure it’ll suffice.” Seramir easily picks up on what isn’t being said, something must’ve happened to Rose’s parents.

Rose’s grandpa opens the door revealing the room “Here you are, the bathroom is just down the hall if you need it. Rose is just across from you and I’m the next door down.” Seramir nods in gratitude as he replies “Thank you.” Rose’s grandpa pats Seramir on the shoulder as he says “You’re welcome young man.” As Rose’s grandpa walks away Seramir steps into the room before closing the door behind him, he examines the room to see a full-sized bed, a door which likely leads to the closet, and a dresser with a mirror that takes up the entire wall.

Seramir sighs in exhaustion as he unzips his jacket, takes off his polo revealing a white T-shirt before taking it off to reveal a black undershirt, after that he kicks off his shoes and takes off his jeans leaving him in his black boxers after he takes off his black socks. He gently places his clothes on the dresser unsure of what to do with them, Seramir thinks to himself “This is so weird, I would’ve figured that this hallucination would’ve been over by now.” He then looks to the bed “Maybe if I got to bed it’ll end, not sure if I’ll just cease to exist or if I’ll end up in Hell since I obviously won’t go to Heaven.” Seramir pulls back the covers as he slips under them and pulls them back up to his chin “Oh well, at least I know what to expect from Hell, maybe I’ll become a demon or I could just overthrow the Devil and take the throne for myself. I certainly have the anger and hatred for it.”

Seramir closes his eyes “Oh well, I’ll find out if I wake up or not.” Meanwhile Rose’s grandpa looks at her as she washes the dishes “Are you okay sweetie?” Rose stops before she lets out an exasperated sigh “I just…I don’t understand why he doesn’t think he was worth helping.” Rose’s grandpa sighs as well “I know sweetie, but with him doing it for over ten years it’s likely people just didn’t think anything of it.”

Rose turns towards her grandpa with righteous fury in her eyes “They shouldn’t have just accepted it; they should’ve been there for him! They should’ve known how much he was suffering! How could they…” Rose chokes back a sob “how could they just not care?” Rose’s grandpa goes to hug her as she cries “I know sweetie, I know, but he was right.”

He continues “They had their own lives to live, does that mean that they shouldn’t have tried to help him when he needed it? No, but they can’t always be there for Seramir when he needs it, besides this problem seems deep rooted and not an easy one to solve.” Rose replies between sobs “I just…I just wish that…that he didn’t have to go through that…no one deserves to be alone when they’re suffering.” Her grandpa strokes her hair as he hushes her “I know sweetie, I know.”

The next morning Seramir jolts awake before he sits up and takes in his surroundings “Huh, I’m still here.” Seramir begins to process what that might mean “Since I’m still here then that must mean that I’m in a coma and this is some weird interconnected dream or something. That doesn’t really make sense, but the only other alternative is that I somehow got transported here after I tried to kill myself like out of some Isekai anime, but that makes even less sense.” Seramir rubs his head as he groans in frustration “Damn it, why couldn’t I have just died like a normal person? I can’t tell if Death hates me, loves me, or is just afraid of me.”

Seramir slumps his shoulders with a sigh “Oh well, guess I’ll just try to make it through the day again.” Seramir gets out of bed and grabs his clothes before stepping out into the hallway, apparently, he woke up before either Rose or her grandpa so at least they won’t see him half naked in the hallway. Seramir goes to the bathroom to see what appears to be a toilet and shower along with a sink with a mirror. Seramir thinks to himself as he locks the door behind him “Right, forgot about the whole Matera thing.”

Seramir pulls back the curtain to see a similar setup as the sink, he taps the blue Matera to start the water flow. He then adjusts the temperature so that the water is warm, but not scalding hot or freezing cold by using the red and orange Materas. Seramir looks to his left to see what appears to be shampoo, a bar of soap, and a rag to wash himself with. He thinks to himself as he starts with the shampoo “It’s weird how this world has evolved differently than the one I’m from. I don’t even think soap was a thing back in the medieval time period, it’s almost like this world has a medieval aesthetic with some modern appliances thanks to the introduction of Matera. It certainly makes things convenient, that’s for sure.”

After Seramir is done showering he takes a towel out of a nearby close before drying himself off and putting on his clothes, he leaves his jacket unzipped. When he steps out of the bathroom, he notices that Rose and her grandpa still aren’t awake yet “Well I did wake up pretty early so that’s to be expected.” Seramir walks out of the house to see the sun rising over the nearby forest, he decides to sit down on the grass and watch the sun rise.

Not too long after he hears frantic footsteps from behind the door before it is suddenly flung open to his surprise. Seramir looks up to see Rose with a panicked look on her face before she sighs in relief “Thank goodness.” Rose is still in her pink pajamas as she says “I thought you had disappeared.” Seramir replies as he looks back to the horizon “Yeah, I wasn’t expecting to wake up here either.” Rose sits down next to Seramir “Well I’m glad you did.”

Seramir asks as he looks over at Rose “Why do you care so much? I mean you barely know me and it’s not like I’ve made any sort of impact on your life or anything.” Rose looks at Seramir as a million thoughts cross her mind before she looks down and answers “I know how it feels to be alone, to have people suddenly disappear from your life without any warning. My parents, they…they were killed in a mining expedition that was being led by the royal family. When I found out I was only fourteen years old, it felt like…like my entire world had just fallen apart.”

Seramir looks at Rose sympathetically as she continues “When you said what you had said last night, it made me remember how I felt when I lost them. I had felt so alone and I didn’t know how I could go on without them, even now it’s hard sometimes and I know grandpa won’t be around for much longer, but…” tears start to form in her eyes “I just…you were the first person who I could relate to. You were the first person to not think I was weird for liking to read, you stood up for me when no one else would, and…I just…I just couldn’t stand the thought of someone who finally understood me just disappearing without warning.” Rose begins crying while Seramir looks at her unsure of what he should do before he hesitantly pulls her into a side hug “I’m sorry that I brought up those memories last night. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Rose shakes her head as she wipes her tears and looks at him “No, I’m glad you did, because…because I want you to be my friend.” Seramir looks at Rose in shock “I want you to trust me and tell me when you’re not feeling well, no matter when or where or what it may be. I know we just met, but…you’re the first friend I’ve had in a long time.” Seramir pulls Rose deeper into the hug as he replies “I’d be happy to call you a friend.” Rose returns the hug as she says “Thank you Seramir, thank you.”

After their heartfelt moment they pull away from each other before Seramir comments “I’m not sure what’ll happen today. With Loxus being the mayor’s son there’s no doubt he’ll come looking for me and I doubt he’d be too happy about how I scared the crap out of his son and beat up his goons.” Rose replies as she gathers her emotions “Yeah, but I wouldn’t be too worried, Loxus likes to brag about how he’s the mayor’s son and tries to use it against people.” Seramir snarks “Yeah, sounds about right.” Rose giggles “But I don’t think the mayor would be too upset as long as he gets our side of the story.”

Seramir asks as he looks at Rose with a quirked eyebrow “Our side?” Rose answers as she beams at Seramir “Yes, our side.” Seramir smiles lightly with a blush on his cheeks before he goes back to staring at the horizon, Rose then stands up and dusts herself off “Well, I’d better go get cleaned up and get breakfast ready.” Seramir replies as she walks back inside “Alright, I’ll be back in in a minute.” Seramir thinks to himself with a feeling of contentment “You know, this isn’t too bad, I just hope I don’t wake up from this dream.”


End file.
